Getting your kids to brush their teeth can be a pain. They often don't like it, and many youngsters would rather cry, scream or otherwise complain instead of scrubbing their pearly whites. In fact, the process can be so problematic some parents of young children might be tempted to sidestep teeth-brushing altogether. After all, kids' baby teeth are just going to fall out, right?

It's true that children's baby, or primary, teeth will eventually head to Tooth Fairy territory, but in the meantime, they can still develop painful and expensive cavities. Plus, children's primary teeth need to be as healthy as possible, as they hold the spots open for the permanent, secondary teeth. If the baby teeth aren't in good shape, the spaces won't be preserved well, which could potentially alter the alignment of the child's future choppers.

Most seasoned parents know that the best way to turn kids off of a particular activity is by turning it into a struggle. Instead, channel your inner clown, songstress or whatever it takes to make brushing your kids' teeth fun and effective! Since younger children don't have the necessary motor skills to do a bang-up job, you'll be helping until they're at least 5 or 6 years old, so you might as well find a way for everyone to have fun, right?

Read the next page to find out how use an old-school Atari to teach your kid about the importance of brushing his teeth.